LAS VEGAS, Dec. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (CLSH) “CLS,” a diversified cannabis company operating as Cannabis Life Sciences and an integrated cannabis producer and retailer in Nevada through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries, today is pleased to provide an update on its recent business initiatives in Nevada and Massachusetts.

CLS has loaned $5 million to In Good Health, a licensed medical dispensary in Brockton, Massachusetts with a significant market share. Along with the loan, CLS has an option to acquire In Good Health. In Good Health is located 25 miles south of downtown Boston and is one of the 38 licensed dispensaries in the state. The Brockton dispensary was the second licensed dispensary in the state and has been operational since September 2015, and has been medical only up until this time. In Good Health is currently servicing 18,250 registered patients and delivering to 2,100 homes with key product offerings of flower, concentrates, vapes, edibles, pre-rolls and tinctures.

CLS has also agreed in principle to form an 80/20 joint venture with CannAssist, which CLS will own 80%. CannAssist plans to build out a recreationally licensed cultivation grow facility in Leicester, Massachusetts. The planned Leicester 86,000 square foot facility is in possession of its host community agreement, is awaiting state acknowledgement of its pending recreational licenses and upon completion will be the third largest cultivation grow in the state. The Leicester facility is anticipated to produce its first harvest in the fourth quarter of 2019 and be able to produce 28,000 lbs of flower along with 858,000 grams of extract once it is operating at capacity. At current pricing of $3,500 per pound of flower and $40 per gram of extract, total capacity is expected to reach $120 million in revenue. CLS anticipates generating substantial positive cash

Earlier this week, Congress passed the final version of the 2018 Farm Bill, which stipulates the legalization of industrial hemp. Now all that’s missing is President Donald Trump’s signature, and it’s expected in the next few days.

“This week’s passage of the 2018 Farm Bill … was huge for the industry on so many levels,” Green Market Report CEO Debra Borchardt told Benzinga. “The president is expected to sign it as he looks for a ‘win’ at the end of the year.”

Hemp legislation opens the floodgates for legal CBD and hemp-derived products, benefiting a range of industries from industry to food to personal care, she said.

“I expect we’ll see the valuations of companies that had focused on hemp-based products rise quickly.”

Marijuana Indexes & ETFs

Over the week, the United States Marijuana Index, which tracks most of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., lost 3.8 percent, while the North American Marijuana Index, which also includes Canadian stocks, slipped 5.8 percent.

Canada’s cannabis leader is currently Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB). This is a well established and rapidly growing cannabis company. They have a global presence, sales leadership, industry-leading gross margins, a great product portfolio and tons of production capacity. But, ACB stock isn’t a buy yet because it doesn’t have the one thing it needs most.

When it comes to pot stocks, there’s one simple rule I like to follow: don’t buy until there’s big money confirmation. What exactly does this mean? Big money is starting to flow into the cannabis arena. Namely, alcoholic beverage giant Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) and Marlboro cigarette maker Altria (NYSE:MO) have both made billion dollar investments into Canadian cannabis companies Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) and Cronos (NASDAQ:CRON), respectively. Those big investments are big money confirmation that Canopy and Cronos will likely be big players in the global cannabis market. As such, they make both CGC and CRON stock long-term winners.

Without big money confirmation, there’s simply too much uncertainty here to roll the dice on ACB stock. Aurora might be a leader today. But, they have been competing with cash-strapped Canopy and Cronos thus far. Tomorrow, they are essentially competing with Constellation Brands and Altria. That’s a competition they will have trouble winning.

When it comes to Aurora’s underlying fundamentals, there’s a lot to like about this big and rapidly growing cannabis company.

First off, the company is the cannabis sales leader with over $18 million in cannabis sales last year. This sales leadership is due to the fact that Aurora is behind the top 4 best-selling cannabis products in British Columbia and has over

History is about to be made. On Dec. 11, the Senate passed the 2018 Farm Bill by a vote of 83-17. The House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 369-47 on Dec. 12, and now it is off to President Trump for a signature.

The bill will legalize hemp for the first time in nearly a century, swinging the door to massive growth wide open. As hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) oil hits the mainstream, we’re looking at an industry with the potential to be 55 times larger in just five years.

CBD oil is derived from marijuana and hemp plants, and it has been used by wellness and medical professionals for years as an alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals to treat everything from anxiety and depression to chronic pain, inflammation and childhood epilepsy. If it were a drug, we would call it a wonder drug.

CBD is considered one of the most beneficial compounds available to humans, and it does not have the nasty side effects that many drugs do.

That’s why my pick for the Best Stocks for 2019 contest is Charlotte’s Web (OTCMKTS:CWBHF) stock. In order for you to fully understand this company, let me begin by telling you a story …

CWBHF Stock and the Miracle Cure

Charlotte Figi was just three months old when she had her first seizure. It was a grand mal seizure, the most serious kind and it lasted 30 minutes. That was only the beginning.

The number of seizures kept increasing. By the time she was three, Charlotte needed a wheelchair.

At one point, she took up to seven medications to control the seizures, but they didn’t help. By age five, Charlotte was having up to 300 grand mal seizures per week.